Read & Reflect
Articles, reflections, news, and homilies — thoughtful Catholic content for the faithful, published regularly.
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World News
Are larger families actually more religious?
In a society where artificial birth control is widely available and accepted, having a large family is increasingly seen as a choice taken primarily by people outside the mainstream, often for religious reasons.But is that actually the case?Sociologist Ryan Burge recently took a look at the question...
World News
UK PM plans to end ‘archaic’ ban on Catholics advising on church roles
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced Thursday that the government will seek to end a ban on Catholics and Jews advising the British monarch on appointments to the established (state) church.U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosts his first weekly Cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street on July...
World News
Rabat archdiocese gets coadjutor after allegations against cardinal
Pope Leo XIV appointed Msgr. Mario León Dorado, OMI as coadjutor Archbishop of Rabat on Sept. 12, following sexual misconduct allegations against the current archbishop, Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, SDB.Msgr. Mario León Dorado, OMI. Credit: Oblates of Mary Immaculate.López Romero announced in Ju...
World News
Prominent U.S. priest restricted from ministry
The Diocese of Fall River, Mass., announced Friday that Msgr. Roger Landry has been restricted from public ministry after allegations of misconduct were made against the priest by “multiple individuals.”There are no allegations involving minors, the diocese emphasized, but he has been accused of “vi...
World News
Has Leo found hidden value in reversing Francis’ financial policies?
Pope Leo XIV on Monday repealed one of Pope Francis’ signature financial policies, rolling back a series of 2021 pay cuts and freezes for senior Vatican officials, including cardinals resident in Rome.Pope Leo XIV. Credit: Vatican Media.In a motu proprio dated Sept. 1 but published by the Vatican pr...
World News
A new leader at a critical time for Belarus’ Byzantine Catholics
The Vatican announced Monday a major leadership transition in a small but historically significant community within the Catholic Church in Belarus.The Belarusian Greek Catholic Center of St. Joseph in Minsk, Belarus. Credit: Darriuss/wikimedia CC0.The Holy See press office said Sept. 14 that Pope Le...
Spirituality
7 Things You Didn’t Know About the Stigmata of St. Francis
St. Francis of Assisi was the first saint known to receive the sacred stigmata, the marks of Christ’s passion on the body. St. Francis received the stigmata at Mount Alverna in Tuscany in the year 1224. St. Francis had been observing a 40-day fast on the mountain in preparation for the Feast of St....
Spirituality
What It Means To Be Wise as Serpents, Innocent as Doves
There is something deeply unsettling in Christ’s instruction to His disciples in the tenth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel. We might have expected Him to say, “I send you as lions among wolves,” or perhaps as soldiers entering battle. Instead, He says: “Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wo...
Spirituality
The Power of Our Lady of Sorrows’ Presence
With regard to the narrative of Jesus’ passion, John the Evangelist points out to us—repeatedly—that the only reason any of the fateful events occurred to our dear Savior was in order to fulfill the Father’s Word. Had Jesus said “no” to any of it, not a single moment of His Passion would have transp...
Spirituality
The Cross & Learning to Love: Lessons from Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
One day a few years ago, I recall watching Fulton Sheen’s last recorded Good Friday address from 1979, which is still available on YouTube. In the presentation, Archbishop Sheen told his audience that this was his fifty-eighth consecutive year of giving this type of reflection about Christ’s Seven L...
Spirituality
What St. Joseph Taught Me About Fear: 3 Years with the 7 Sorrows and Joys
God brought me to Christ and to His Church by way of fear. Twenty-five years ago, I was a young man with a social anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and depression, and out of that darkness I first cried out to Him. By His grace the crippling fears were overcome. But fear and anxiety did not simply pa...